Twisted Intervention
by penofmischief
Summary: MANGA BASED! After Battle City, Seto Kaiba finally feels inner peace with himself. He finds comfort in his brother and the most least-likely person, and finally begins to have hope for the life he never thought he could have, until fate intervenes. SxSxP
1. Prologue: It All Began Here

**Author Note: **Yeah, I haven't quite gotten the inspiration to rewrite Tasukete! _just _yet, but why should I devoid my fans of my favorite triangle? (laugh) So yeah, here's a new story with that oh so twisted coupling pattern, with a extremely creepy _twist_. How is that, you ask? Well… you'll see what I mean when we get into the meat of this story (or if you are smart enough to look at the coupling section down bellow) but knowing me, that could be some time. (insert diabolical laugh here) Ahem. Enjoy the story.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I just love the screw up Kazuki Takahashi's intentions for his original plot-line—but never the characters, mind you: Have you readers no _shame?_

* * *

**Plot: **_After Battle City, Seto Kaiba finally feels inner peace with himself. He finds comfort in his brother and the most least-likely person, and finally begins to have hope for the life he never thought he could had—  
—until fate intervenes and threatens to take and distort everything he has now come to cherish._

* * *

**Genre: **Romance/Supernatural/Fantasy/Drama

* * *

**Pairings: **

Shizuka/Kaiba  
Shizuka/Pegasus

* * *

**Warning: **Rated T/(PG-13) (Parents Strongly Cautioned) For language, brief violence and sensuality.

* * *

-_Imperfect Paradise (Yamiko)  
_

* * *

Twisted Intervention  
By Imperfect Paradise

* * *

**-Prologue-  
**It All Began Here

* * *

"This is just crazy… I mean, _heh_—Here's the jack-ass who single handedly took Mr. Croquet hostage, showed some real twisted nerve in the process of it, too, and now—here's the exactly same guy, sitting there, not moving, and barely breathing..." **(A/N 1)**

"Well, who could ever keep these gaming nerds straight anyway? You know, I had this one friend in college, who thought he was best when it came to this old Atari based game, and when this one high school student got to the _next_ set of bricks and beat that in addition to the previous level, he wouldn't talk to anyone for a month."

"Really? What did he do through that time?"

"I dunno. He just sat in his room and sulked for like, well, ever."

"Jesus Christ. Well, glad _I'm_ not into this dumb card game."

During the heat of this discussion, the once vividly condescending form of Seto Kaiba, who was seen by many as a human storm, or even a juggernaut of complete and total destruction, now sat in his cell (compliments of his current tormentor), not moving a single muscle, looking as harmless and as harmful as a mere lab-rat. His eyes—still dark, but not in the same infamous way as recognized by his peers—gazed into what seemed like an empty void, never leaving it for a second. They took no notice of the guards, their words, or even the dirty and moist environment around him or anything that he would have normally found total and complete disgust in.

What now sat there, was nothing more than an empty shell.

While in the midst of their constant banter (for the guards had nothing to worry about when it came to welfare of their captive, at least not at the present time), their conversation suddenly ceased when the tune to _When the Saints Go Marching On_ suddenly sounded through the air, prompting the second guard to reach for his breast pocket, retrieve his cellular phone and flip it open without a second's hesitation.

"Yes, what it is?"

"_Master Pegasus is on his way down."_

Acknowledging this, the guard replied, "Understood sir, we will secure the area immediately."

"_Mmmm…. That won't be necessary."_

Hearing the voice on the other end of the line change immediately, the guard felt his hair stand on end, realizing at that moment that he was now speaking to his boss. Trying to regain his composure (no easy feat, after all, he knew full well what this man was capable of—the guy was his boss, for crying out loud) he then inquired into the mobile devise. "Then what are your orders, sir?"

"_Listen, leave your stations and head for the guest quarters. Just be sure to keep everyone in the same spot so that there won't be any interference."_

"Understood, Pegasus-sama."

* * *

As the cell door closed behind him (which was nothing more than the clanging of metal against metal, and the scrape of it all over reinforced stone) Pegasus J. Crawford stood before his former adversary, his gaze filled with contempt, but not towards what those watching thought. In fact, when it came to his present feelings towards the child before him, he did little more than just stare emptily at the boy before him in the cell, his remaining eye regarding him with very few emotions.

Mainly, his negative feelings were addressed towards something else entirely.

_Himself. _

A part of him still couldn't believe he was doing this. Why should he not have any confidence in himself? It was the way it always had been, and he had proved that numerous occasions too.

_Still_, there was something about the situation that was too unsettling for comfort. The way Yuugi's eyes changed dramatically during the closing of his little duel with Kaiba-boy, no longer filled with the innocence and fear he was used to seeing within the boy, but were now seethed in anger, and ravenous wrath that wanted desperately to be quenched by_ any_ means necessary. It was something that seemed well beyond _potentially_ dangerous and it was something that his mystical powers couldn't read without some disturbance.

And that was what feared him. That was a reason that sleep eluded him that night, and he knew it very well.

For as much as he wished there wasn't, there was still that possibility—that was becoming more and more likely by the second—and he couldn't deny it.

For it was becoming more than possible that he would be _defeated—_and in the most mercilessly way possible.

Now he was a clever man. He knew that everyone, good, bad, intelligent and stupid alike, always had _something _in common. After all, it was simple common sense, and he always had one no matter how good the odds of the outcome were in his favor, and that was a back-up plan.

And as of now, he only had _one_—and that was what brought him here, tonight.

Of course, most people would have found it a little extreme, even for those in his shoes. After all, the whole concept was twisted and cruel—even for his standards. Perhaps it was just because it was late at night. Perhaps it was because he wasn't thinking clearly due to loss of sleep that had been deprived to him all night long.

Or maybe perhaps it was something more all together. That it was simple due process, and that what would happen next was completely inevitable.

Now he wasn't a fool. He knew the risks of it, and the more than likely outcome if it came to fruition. But when it came to protecting his personal assets and life, he didn't give a single damn about it. He would simply just have to deal with it all in the end.

He knelt down before the boy and bit his lip, hesitating slightly. After all, what he was going to perform that moment wasn't going to be pretty—or for than matter, emotionally and physically soundless.

But he had to do this. If what he was sensing was true, he knew that if he wanted to live, he didn't have a goddamn choice.

He let out a small growl before he leaned in closer to the boy, studying him one more time to make sure his physical structure was refined enough to house his intentions, but he knew it was pointless—for he already knew the answer.

There was no going back now.

He opened his mouth, and whispered darkly to the boy who could no longer hear him:

"…I know that if the events come together as I proceeded tonight, that you _and _I will not be able to escape from it. I also know that once I complete this task, that it's final, _done_—and if the circumstances are met, that there will be no going back for _either _of us. Furthermore, I am completely aware that if in that event, you will hate me more than you ever could, even as you do now, but," (his eyes narrowed to a critical degree) "I don't really care about that, Kaiba-boy, because you know what? I am not too fond of you either…"

With that, the silver haired man placed his index and middle finger on the young man's forehead, pressing his fingertips firmly against it and then, Pegasus focused his very being on what remained of Seto Kaiba's train of thought, and allowed himself to merge with it.

And with that, the Millennium Eye glowed a brilliantly vivid golden light and consumed the two of them within its hypnotically beautiful rays.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**The following is not meant to be anti-fanfiction format. These are author notes, and they are not meant to counter the rules of site placed restrictions of the webmasters and moderators. Thank you for your attention.**

**Author Note 1 – **In the original manga, while attempting to get his brother back, Kaiba took Croquet hostage, by placing his head between his reinforced steel briefcase and slamming his foot down against it, while in the midst, pointing a gun at him. Also, since this fiction is comic-book based, Pegasus is going to die well before we get into the first chapter. Hell, if my plot is going to work, that it has to be like this, alright? Okay, cool then.

* * *

**Random Note: **Yeah, I am getting somewhat back into writing again. But right now, I am only interested in writing small pieces like this one (I kept it under 2000 words so it will be easier for me to add installments to this fiction—or so I hope), so fictions like My Torture Ends a Week From Now and To Freeze Her Heart probably won't be updated immediately. And that's all she wrote folks. _Swish!_


	2. 1: If I Only Had A Heart

**Author Note: **Okay, first chapter for this story. It's longer than the prologue, so I hope you people find it more compelling. If not, well… too bad I guess. (hates the fact that school starts up again on the twenty-fifth for her… while you're at it, please mentally insert Yu-Gi-Oh: Abridged Series patented Tristan extended "Nooooooooooo!" as seen at the end of the Duelist Kingdom Segment)

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own didley squat. Meaning I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any other multi-million dollar franchise, alright-ee?

* * *

**Plot: **_After Battle City, Seto Kaiba finally feels inner peace with himself. He finds comfort in his brother and the most least-likely person, and finally begins to have hope for the life he never thought he could had—  
—until fate intervenes and threatens to take and distort everything he has now come to cherish._

* * *

**Genre: **Romance/Supernatural/Fantasy/Drama

* * *

**Pairings: **

Shizuka/Kaiba  
Shizuka/Pegasus

* * *

**Warning: **Rated T/(PG-13) (Parents Strongly Cautioned) For language, brief violence and sensuality.

* * *

-_Imperfect Paradise (Yamiko)_

* * *

Twisted Intervention   
By Imperfect Paradise

* * *

**-Chapter One-****  
**"If I Only Had A Heart"

* * *

Seto Kaiba awoke with a start, eyes wide and sweat lacing every part of his form. His pajamas were soaked with perspiration, and his eyes wildly darted around every part of the room, as if he expected something to emerge from the shadows.

After coming to the conclusion that he had been dreaming again, he let out an annoyed grunt and fell back into his sheets, the bed bouncing somewhat as his body hit the mattress. Yet the soft and overly priced fabric was not enough to comfort the aching pains inside him.

"_Your Virus card will not allow you to draw an additional monster. As per Duelist Kingdom's Battle Royal rules, this is a direction violation for the conditions of this match and you are no longer permitted to duel against me."_

"—_Ugh…"_

"_Now, shall I show you the world in which you are now entitled to?"_

"_Mokuba! No, please, don't do this—!"_

"_Penalty Game – Mind Card!"_

He hated that memory. He hated it more than anything. Heh, if truth be told, it was the only thing that could haggle with the death of his mother and father, his upbringing by Gozaburo and the dreaded penalty game that Yuugi passed on to him after the fateful conclusion of their very first match.

But still… Just the thought of that callous smirk of that silver haired son of a bitch, his brother, dirty, unkempt and draped in rusty shackles and the dark void that followed was enough for him to lose whatever he had in his stomach.

But even so, he knew he had nothing to fear now. For following the whole R.A. Project mishap with Yuugi and Tenma from just a month ago, it was clear as day that Pegasus J. Crawford was never coming back. Never. For wherever he was now, he couldn't hurt him anymore—that was the plain truth, and he was more than happy to abide by that simple fact.

After a moment of simply reflecting on the event long since passed, he was brought back to Earth by a knock on the door as indicating that his maid had arrived. Shaking his head, slightly, he murmured with an emotionless tone, "…enter."

The door creaked somewhat, as the head maid entered, holding his folded school uniform with her hands and forearms. She bowed and informed him, "Seto-sama, your breakfast is ready for you on the table, and the chauffeur is waiting outside."

Kaiba regarded her for half a second, before he wiped the sweat from his forehead and emerged from his bed, ready to begin yet another day.

* * *

It was nearing two o-clock that afternoon, and Kaiba simply went about his life as he always did, finishing up all of his work with hopes that he could leave within a timely fashion. Hs company was important to him, and required constant surveillance. So the sooner he wrapped this up, the better.

But unlike his other high-school curriculum classes, however, this particular one was somewhat useful; foreign language department always eased him for some reason, and proved useful when expanding his empire around the globe.

Proceeding to read and answer questions regarding the assigned reading material, he more than often rolled his eyes at the questions his teacher seemed to have almost _randomly _given him. For most of them appeared to be stupid and even pointless. Seriously, though, question thirteen: _What color is Scout's wagon when she goes to see Atticus in the Court-room?_ Jesus, what the _hell_? Before Kaiba could further mentally gripe, he found his train of though interrupted partway through, hearing the familiar obnoxious (yet hushed) ramblings of the most irritating individual and his equally irritate accomplice on the planet. Inwardly cursing that loyal knight of Yuugi's, his glance rotated slightly, watching as the mutt proceeded to emit unnecessary "stupid-vibes" from himself and his "partner-in-crime."

"So anyway—this girl, in the video! She was a platinum blonde, had smooth skin, a pretty face, and had _double_-"D" sized—"

"Ohh, _baby!_ Go on… Go _on!"_

Kaiba resisted spitting to the side at light of the absolutely perverted nature of the blonde mutt beside him and the pencil haired acquaintance of his. Isn't that the kind of talk you keep inside at all costs? Then again, from the situation at hand, (and regarding the person in question) he guessed not. _God damn-it, _he thought, _Can any idiot teenage male hold one sensual desire inside?_

'Dude, she _didn't!"_

"Oh, but she did—and oh god, she just grabbed that pole, lifted her head up, her lips parted and—"

Jounouchi continued on to spout the climax of the most inappropriate story in the world to his equally mentally challenged friend, while Kaiba just sat there, thoroughly vexed. _Christ_… Even if he _wanted _to read right now, he couldn't. His disgust level was just through the roof and nothing could stop it from rising. This left only one solution open to him, with three separate tasks needed to fulfill it. One - He_ had_ to blow off some steam. Two - get his mind on other things, and three - (most importantly) _get _that- _dog-_ "out" of the room.

"—anyway, yeah! I tell yah, the rental and fake I.D. was worth _every _single yen I paid!"

"Oh my god, you serious! Can I _borrow it!"_

"Got in my bag, man, it's all yours if your return it within two days."

_Time to get to work._

Kaiba took that exact moment to let out a little chuckle, getting both Jounouchi and Honda's attention in an instant. Closing his novelette shut and gently setting it on his desk, he turned towards Jounouchi and inquired, "A pornographic video in the hands of you, eh? How fitting for a loser who could never hope to get a love interest of any kind in his entire life."

Jounouchi trembled with rage for a moment, Honda leaning back as if to avoid what would happen next. Prying his teeth, he began smugly, "First of all Kaiba, I'm not a loser" (Kaiba fought the process of rolling his eyes at the worst opening of any combative response), "Second— you couldn't hope to get anyone for yourself with that icy bastard attitude of yours" Kaiba raised a single eye-brow, as Jounouchi reached for his book sack, "And _thirdly, _hot-shot—" he pulled out the DVD box and held it out in front of Kaiba, "This isn't a VHS; it's a _DVD. _Meaning better picture quality, scene selection, language options, and special bonus features with behind the scene footage and—"

He was stopped sort when the clicking of high-heeled stopped at the end of his row and found a shadow covering his desk, prompting him to look up at the face of their home-room teacher. His face paled faster than a single cycle in a washing machine.

"Jounouchi-san! How many times have I _told_ youto stop pestering Kaiba with this obnoxious and wretched behavior. I don't understand why the two of you can't just make up and ge—_yaaaaaaaaahhhhhh! _Jounouchi _Katsuya!_ _What did you bring –_into_– my_ _classroom!"_

Jounouchi knew instantly that he was in trouble, for he had been caught red-handed, holding the perverted movie right in front of his desk, for the_ entire_ classroom to see, including Ms. Chono, who was presently fuming with unadulterated rage. In response to his teacher's outburst, all that came out was a tiny little squeak, him realizing exactly how horribly he just screwed up. All Kaiba did was simply lean back in his desk, looking both complacent and relieved.

Not hesitating for a second, Ms Chono grabbed him by the ear, and began pulling him out of his desk. Ms Chono then replied in a voice indicating she was very pissed off, "Pornographic films are _prohibited _on this campus! School charter says in the event of this, a trip to the principal's office is mandatory, followed by three weeks of _detention!"_

Jounouchi moaned in anguish as Ms Chono continued to roughly manhandle him out of the room. Stopping by the door, Jounouchi butted in, in an act of desperation, "But teach! I have to walk my little sister home! It's her first day here!"

"Well, you should have thought about _that_ when you brought that horrid profanity to class."

Noticing everyone was leaning in close to the situation, the vain beauty-queen of a teacher hissed in their direction, "For the next fifteen minutes, _no one_ is to leave, talk or do anything in slightest bit destructive!" She made a move to vacate again, before she turned around and added a protocol comment. "Oh, and Kaiba's in charge until I get back."

With that, the door slammed behind her, with an echo-y sounding thud, followed by the sound of fading footsteps as they disappeared down the high school corridor.

Once they disappeared from ear-shot, right on cue, the girls of the classroom starting giggling insanely ("Is that Blondy for real?" one of them gossiped indiscriminately_)_, while the boys started talking loudly amongst each other, some placing their phones on vibrate so they could race them on their desks.

As the consistent babble grew louder, and as a paper airplane flew right behind him, Kaiba rolled his eyes in annoyance and reached down for the book again, continuing to wait until the teacher got back.

* * *

Despite the fact that the mutt was getting his (Principal's office and three weeks detention; Kaiba really had to applaud himself on the effectiveness of pulling at the mutt's strings), the rest of his day was starting to become a hindrance to him.

Pocketing his cell phone, he grumbled to himself about his latest pet-peeve. Apparently there had been an accident on the central part of town, which cut off access for the road between his school and his chauffeur. The only way circumvent the situation was for his driver to take twenty minutes to rework his path, and then rendezvous with him on the other side of the school.

Holding his briefcase in hand, Kaiba bitterly made his way towards the physical education block, which stood on the adjacent end of the campus. It was pretty quiet; everyone else had probably either boarded the bus or had taken their intended destinations by foot, meaning the school had practically become godforsaken.  
Not that he cared, for all he had to do was head on over to the field and wait on the bench besides the drinking fountain. Isono would probably find him there, seemed simple enough.

After crossing the soccer field, he spotted his chosen waiting spot, but then realized his plan wasn't quite as he had originally intended.

There, on the bench, was what appeared to be a freshman girl, one he never seen on campus before. She had auburn colored hair, pulled back in a simple ponytail, and a pair of very small-rimmed glasses, (with her fidgeting with them every so often) which accompanied her chocolate colored eyes. She was presently reading one of her textbooks, reading it almost like she was seeing a pretty jewel or gem of sorts. This bemused Kaiba to some degree, but mostly, it was clouded over by bitterness and selfish intentions. **(A/N 1)**

Muttering darkly to himself, Kaiba began making his way over toward her—maybe he would be intimidating enough for her to vacate and move somewhere else—but instead, he got very different results.

Hearing the sound of his footsteps, the girl turned around with a hopeful look in her eyes, (which caught Kaiba somewhat off balance). "Onii-chan—" she began, but then got a better look at the person who came, who regarded her with a very sour look. They clouded over somewhat in disappointment, before she turned away, put her nose back into the book she had been reading, and murmured, "M-my apologies… I thought you were someone else."

Kaiba stood there for a moment; before he approached the bench and sat down on the opposite end. Holding his brief-case on his lap, and folding his arms across it, he murmured things contemptuously under his breath, waiting for that bastard Isono to show up on the intersection down the road.

"Excuse me…"

Kaiba didn't turn around, but grunted slightly. The girl then asked, "You're Kaiba… Kaiba Seto, right?"

Kaiba glanced at her somewhat, but then looked right out ahead, choosing not to dignify that with an answer. Though the fact that someone in this world had to _ask _or even _verify _who he was, which was a remarkable feat in itself, needless to say—in the end, he just wasn't in the mood to talk. In fact, he was about to make that clear to the new-girl, but she continued before he could open his mouth.

"My brother's in your class… do you know when he's gonna show up? His name is Jounouchi Katsuya… He was in your tournament a couple months back—"

Then, upon hearing the name Jounouchi Katsuya, Kaiba turned around to face the girl. Then, after taking a _better _look at her, the memory finally chose to dislodge itself from Kaiba's non-cherish-able (and non-important-to-remember) memory bank and he suddenly saw a young girl, crying her heart out as her brother was rolled out from the arena on a stretcher, with her following loyally behind.

Then, understanding the circumstances at hand, Kaiba suddenly felt _slightly _guilty (but apparently not enough) and did a good job at concealing it. He then reached for his cellphone in order to check the time, and began, in a dead-pan tone, "Listen, uhhh—"

"Shizuka," the girl stated, turning back to her book.

"Yeah. Uhm, _Shizuka_… he, uh… got detention today, so he's not going to be out for an hour or two. I'd probably resort to a different form of transportation for the meantime."

Hearing this, the girl's face darkened somewhat, before he picked up her book again and whispered, "That's unfortunate…" She continued to read for another minute; when passed Kaiba spoke again.

"Well, aren't you going to take the bus, or call for someone?"  
"I'm afraid I don't have a bus-pass yet, and I can't afford phone-service, let alone a cell phone. So _no_, I really can't." Her eyes never left her book.

Kaiba stared for a moment, before he looked down at his cell-phone, wondering if he should offer one call to her.

"Besides, I want my brother to accompany me home. I'll wait for as long as it takes."

Kaiba let out a small growl, and stuffed his phone back in his uniform pocket, (well—that's the _last _time he _considered_ offering help to anyone) and folded his arms across his chest and stared sullenly into open space. The girl did nothing but continue to read. Having noticed that fact just moments ago, Kaiba then rudely inquired, no friendliness incorporated in his words, "What are you reading?"

Shizuka looked up for a moment, before she closed her book and held it out for him to see. "History of International Cinema—for credit in the performing arts department."

Kaiba leaned back and asked dully, "What's a matter, can't you sing, or dance or anything like that?"

"I get too nervous when I'm on stage, and I certainly don't have the degree to do anything for a grade in front of hundreds of people."

Kaiba didn't say anything, processing those facts with the greatest of care. After all, this was somewhat unusual when it came to what he thought he knew about the Jounouchi family. Was this girl _seriously _related to that idiot Katsuya? That obnoxious, attention-seeking and abhorrent mutt?

"Besides," the girl added calmly, "this sort of thing interests me. And I happen to love both art and theater."

_Maybe she was adopted, _a somewhat rational thought said in the back of his mind. And after their small little discussion, Kaiba would have certainly believed that. Kaiba didn't add anything after that (he didn't really feel the need to) and didn't change his current position in the slightest.

Taking this as a notion that he wasn't interest in what she thought, Shizuka then reopened her book and happened upon a certain page. One that made her smile to some degree. After a moment of this, she then looked out ahead of her, closed her eyes and felt the wind blow against her face, the tranquility of the afternoon itself gently soothing her. It was then when she took to humming, catching Kaiba's attention once again.

It was something of a happy tune, with a little bounce and a falling but smooth sounding action towards the end. Kaiba repressed a growl that begged to come from this throat.

He _despised_ it when people sung from their throat; when they hummed to invisible lyrics that he wouldn't be able to decide if he would hate them or not. Shizuka paid no mind to him, and continued to go about her song. After a minute or two of her little _tune_, Kaiba cocked his head towards her and irritably barked, "What_ is_ that song you're singing? It's annoying!"

Shizuka looked back at him and stared at him for a moment blankly. Then, a soft smile appeared on her face, as she looked out before her and began, "Just to register _emotion_… jealousy—_devotion, _and really feel the _part." _Kaiba raised another eyebrow that day, while Shizuka simply continued:

"I could stay young- and- chipper- and I'd lock it with- a zipper if I _only _had a _heart." _**(A/N 2)**

Kaiba just stared at her, with that same expression, not fleeting in the slightest. Shizuka's smile broadened, before she halted in her verse and looked back at her assigned text and explained, "That song was from one of the very first movies I ever saw. I remember, my dad made a bootleg of that movie from an old rental VHS, and since I had never seen movies before from that age, that movie was really impressionable for me."

Kaiba was about to say something nasty, (like, _shut the hell up_ or _I don't care_) but was stopped short when Shizuka held the book out before him, pointing towards a full-paged size screen-shot of the famed film_,_ abruptly stopping him in his attempts. She then added, "In fact, this movie was the start of the golden age of Hollywood, _and _is responsible and the beacon for most of the visual technology we have today."

Recognizing the screen-shot in an instant (after all, it was pretty generic, even for someone who didn't study film) he merely smirked in response. Shizuka stared at him question for a moment, before Kaiba looked at her with a cynical expression. "Meh…" he began, haughtily, closing his eyes and leaning back again. "It doesn't matter what innovative things they may have done back _then._ What _matters _is what's developed today; anything that is old news and doesn't even make an impact anymore should just be forgotten." **(A/N 3)**

A sad expression fell on Shizuka's face, as she turned away and sighed, "It's sad that you think that."

"Fuh."

Shizuka frowned slightly, before she looked to the side and said, "Sure… it might not be as much as an impression for people now as it was back then, but for the audience who first embraced it—it was almost like they saw the world as it was to meant to be seen for the very first time."

Kaiba's eyes opened slowly, hearing this. Shizuka then concluded, "If you still doubt me, rent the film and watch, while keeping what I just said in mind. You might be surprised, and it might leave somewhat of an impression for you."

Kaiba took notice as his chauffeur finally appeared on the other side of the intersection, turning left and the pulling up besides the curb of the school. _Thank God, _he thought to himself. After standing up and taking his briefcase in hand, he muttered a more than evident empty promise, "I'll contemplate on that _if _it ever happens."

Shizuka smiled at Kaiba as left her side, him stepping into his limo without a backwards glance, and then looked back down at her book, continuing to wait for her older brother as the sleek black transport departed from the campus. **(A/N 4)**

* * *

It wasn't until three hours later, when Seto Kaiba found himself standing in front of his HD home theater system, looking as tense as a renegade varmint facing off against a old west deputy sheriff. He had good reason to, though, because at the moment, even _he _wanted to tease himself at how impulsive he was when the opportunity he openly lied about actually came to fruition.

Holding the infamous _Wizard of Oz _DVD in hand, he inwardly cursed and questioned why the _hell _he went out and bought the damn thing in the first place (_renting _was for middle-classed _losers—_but that didn't really matter to him right now anyway).

Still, he had no idea why he had been so susceptible to the Jounouchi girl's advice, or what had been running through his mind when the limousine stopped before a media outlet when it paused for the red light, but needless to say, the harm had already been done. And here he was, the horrid film in hand.

If anyone was to blame though, it was definitely her. How could someone so sickeningly polite and well versed as Jounouchi's _sister _persuade him to go and purchase something he didn't even care about? He had to contemplate on that for a while, but in the end, he found all reasonable answers to not really add up properly with the circumstances at hand. This irked him somewhat, but that only made more vulnerable. He bit his lip, trying to rationalize with himself and proceeded to reflect on his previous encounter with her.

Damn it _all_… He couldn't come up with _anything!_ It was… just… _well_… … … Well, she certainly wasn't like her idiot brother and his miserable nauseatingly chummy companions. Sure, she had the same traits of allegiance and devotion towards them, yeah—but she didn't need to preach it, explain it or force it upon him like the rest of the morons. And there was something sincere about her, humane and… _kind. _A trait that no one had given to him for _years. _Kind of sad—now that he actually thought about it.

He then shook his head, trying to expel those understanding thoughts from his subconscious and focused on the situation at hand.

Well, the sooner he watched it… the sooner he dispose of the disc in his office paper shredder and throw the remains out the window… Then _again_, he could just do it now and be rid of it entirely (1,500 yen wasn't _that _much) and—

"_You might be surprised, and it might leave somewhat of an impression for you."_

Then again, if he proved her _wrong…_ if the movie _didn't_ leave an impression on him, he could be rid of this memory forever and he could go about life as he normally did.

Taking that as his cue, (heh, another personal victory was so out of reach this time) he popped open the box, inserted the DVD into this player and hit play. He then wandered over to his sofa and sat down, with his laptop sitting beside him, just in case it got to the point where the film was a waste of time.

The movie started out with a crappy sepia color scheme, and after the credits, the picture introduced the protagonist and her family—a girl that Kaiba never thought could have more positive traits than Mazaki Anzu, Shizuka Kawai and Isis Ishtar combined! Her overly innocent and amiable acting in itself made him feel so nauseated that he actually_ had_ to remind himself that this character was _fiction._ Good thing too. He didn't even want to think about the possibility if he ever were to meet anyone with such Pollyanna-based traits as that heroine. God.

After ten minutes—the movie didn't get much better. Even when the tornado hit, Kaiba practically laughed at the horrid effects of _and_ the over-exposure of the obviously _separate_ images that were supposedly flying besides Dorothy in the cyclone (and _if _people in a long-boat were caught in a F3 sidewinder classed tornado, they would _not _be waving to people merrily!). **(A/N 5)**

Still, he waited and watched, for anything to persuade him that this film wasn't a total joke (which was not looking likely). His laptop was beginning to look rather inviting and decided he'd give the movie a minute longer before he went engrossed himself in the process of checking his company stocks.

But he wouldn't have that luxury in the end.

It happened to fast. When he was about to deem this film as a total failure, he watched suddenly, as the color when from basic gold and gray to a beautifully enriched environment, filled with blues, reds, greens and yellows. He sat there, stunned. He had not been expecting this in the slightest. And the whole transition had been pretty clean too. He wondered what software the people used to make the change so perfect. Final Cut? Adobe Premiere? Maybe—

Then he caught himself instantly when he realized a major flaw in his thinking.

…It was _nine-teen-thirty-nine_ when they made this film. Nearly sixty years ago. Computers wouldn't be used for special effects in Hollywood for another forty years. That meant they had to use what they had open to them to film it like this, which meant very limited resources, and a total _genius _to make it work in the end. Imagine what people first thought of his idea, and how shocked they were when he actually proved it possible.

It must have been… _extraordinary. _

In spite of himself, he almost forming a crooked smile on his face, realizing he had been defeated in his battle with Shizuka. She had one been one-hundred percent right… But what truly perplexed him, now that he thought about it, was how perfectly true her words were and the impact they had on him now.

In a way, this had really opened the doorway for more possibility in this particular medium of entertainment. It made people realize that movies could get better, and that the change would never stop, because there's always so much more to do to dazzle an aspiring viewer's impression.

His ideas were no different. When it came to _Magic and Wizards,_ the whole franchise started out as a basic card game, with just mats and a die or a token if the situation required it. Look at it now… He negotiated with Industrial Illusions, created the dueling boxes which would later lead to his prototype for his famed duel discs, and then their completed form. And now, the cards could move, seemingly think and interact with their environment accordingly to the will of the players. And that wasn't the end of it either. He too, had plans to make the whole thing even better. He came up with ideas and concepts almost every month. It was a vastly expanding empire of improvements and advancements in gaming technology. **(A/N 6)**

In a way, these changes had brought hopes, dreams and widened the imagination of people all over the world. This simple advancement from over half a century ago was eye-opener for its generation.

Just like the work he, himself, had accomplished.

Jounouchi's sister was right. Man, what were the odds he would learn something, anything, from the Jounouchi family.

Laughing to himself softly (not believing the above to be true), Kaiba took that as a motive to relax in his seat and continued to watch the film, feeling somewhat at ease with himself—for the first time in almost a year.

* * *

– TO BE CONTINUED –

* * *

**The following is not meant to be anti-fanfiction format. These are author notes, and they are not meant to counter the rules of site placed restrictions of the webmasters and moderators. Thank you for your attention.**

**Author Note 1 – **Well, after extensive eye-surgery you can't expect a patient's vision to be one hundred completely flawless (that's too miraculous, even for today's medical endeavors). Besides, they might even be a cute little added touch for Shizuka.

**Author Note 2 – **I "so" don't own these lyrics. (and if in the event I did write them, I wouldn't be posting crap like this…)

**Author Note 3 – **Blame Warner Bros. I just received their classic family movie DVD set (includes _Wizard of Oz_, _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_ (the _non_-creepy version with Gene Wilder) and _The Goonies_) in the mail, and I just felt like incorporating it into this story.

**Author Note 4 – **I'm trying to incorporate the famous Kaiba attitude here (and its harder than it looks). Also, he didn't remember Shizuka off the bat (because he had pretty much _one- _interaction with her- _one-_ and no one remembers just a three-minutes (or less) time slot in their lives, let alone someone as arrogant as Kaiba—m'kay?

**Author Note 5 – **Atta-boy Kaiba! Brutally critiquing a classic film so badly that the original director would be tossing and turning in his grave. By the way, you people are probably wondering why I am incorporating so much film into this story. To tell you straight out, film itself will serve something of a role in my plot line. How, well… all in good time.

**Author Note 6 –**Yes. Shizuka was the one who got through to Kaiba that the old can have value too. (heh, what are the odds)

* * *

**Random Note: **I know, I said this would be posted yesterday. But I wanted to add more to it and make it better than I originally planned. (I originally intended it to stop right he meets Shizuka on the bench, but that seemed like an unnatural ending—and stupid at that—and decided to extend it).


	3. 2: 'Cause I've got a golden ticket

**Author Note:** Yo, wazzup? Looks like I finally updating something for the year of 2009 (had you guys wait for four months… cruel, isn't it?) much to people's delight or chagrin (I don't really care). Anyway, you guys enjoy yourselves here. There isn't really much to say more on the matter, so… bye.  
(_April 25__th_) Sorry, had to go back and fix a few things up. I was a little hasty, and there were a handful of things I wanted to make perfectly clear to the readers of this story.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh... and I have run out of ideas for a decent disclaimer.

* * *

**Plot:** After Battle City, Seto Kaiba finally feels inner peace with himself. He finds comfort in his brother and the most least-likely person, and finally begins to have hope for the life he never thought he could had—  
—until fate intervenes and threatens to take and distort everything he has now come to cherish.

* * *

**Genre:** Romance/Supernatural/Fantasy/Drama

* * *

**Pairings:**

Shizuka/Kaiba  
Shizuka/Pegasus  


* * *

**Warning:** Rated T/(PG-13) (Parents Strongly Cautioned) For language, brief violence and sensuality.

* * *

_-Imperfect Paradise (Yamiko)

* * *

_

Twisted Intervention  
By Imperfect Paradise

* * *

**-Chapter Two-**  
'Cause I've got a Golden Ticket

* * *

Loss could be an intriguing thing. An outcome with a limited number of options one may chose to proceed with. While winning could bring in benefits, fame and glory—loss could possibly exceed victory solely by the given number choices on which to one may chose to progress from. You could chose to run with your tail between your legs, wallow in shame, deny it all or (the newly found broader option that brought truth to the unexpected epiphany that suddenly broke through Kaiba's ever-so-stubborn defenses) decide where to go from there and make something of it.

Kaiba had never even considered thinking that there could be something good in loss. Before, it had all been about the success, the conquering of others—and the relishing of his latest opponent's brutal thrashing. He would have never considered losing to be good. He would have never considering losing to be beneficial—

—and he would have never brought this up to anyone else—

—let alone the Jounouchi girl.

Whatever accident or traffic-based stunt that had happened just the day before that had caused dramatic inconsistency with his driver's normal route had apparently been so brutal that it also required public maintenance to the entire area, and thus the limousine had to go through that same detour, leaving Kaiba to find himself exactly where he had been the day before—much to his personal dismay. Moreover, seeing how the stupid mutt still had detention (about fourteen days more of it to be exact) it was no surprise that the little red-head was still stationed at the same bench, reading what appeared to be the second chapter of her assigned text.

Kaiba regarded her from about five feet away (Shizuka so completely enthralled in her book to the point where she did not notice of his presence nevertheless the state of the boy behind her at first) while wearing a frown on his face, his fist clenched, and his face contorting with something neither anger nor doubt, yet sharing parts of those qualities.

God damn-it, why was this trivial thing so difficult? He had admitted defeat with Yuugi on a couple of occasions (temporary, at least), and it seemed natural to deal proper gamer etiquette (it was the rules of the gaming world) when the occasion called for it. But the hardest thing about it was just something he couldn't quite pinpoint—and it made him feel… well, weird.

Growling at himself for acknowledging such a stupid thing, Kaiba began to wonder what the hell was the matter with him. And hearing this low-key snarl coming from right behind her, Shizuka looked up from her book, only to see herself face to face with that monstrous boy her brother and his friends had come to hate.

"Kaiba-san?"

Kaiba snapped out it, noticing that Shizuka had cocked her head in his direction giving him a sort of inquisitive look. For some reason, this put him on edge. Staring at him awkwardly, while feeling her own nerves give out somewhat, Shizuka resisted gulping, before starting up again, "Why are you just standing there? Is there something wrong?"

Kaiba didn't answer for a whole five seconds, processing this information through his stubborn and confused haze. Then, almost as if it were a natural response (whatever he had intended to say before suddenly disappearing along with his previous train of thought), he glanced irritably to the side and murmured darkly, "Fuh… If there were, I doubt someone in your position be inclined to care."

Not hearing him quite clearly, Shizuka asked, "I beg your pardon?"

Looking back at her very quickly, Kaiba sneered, "Listen sweet-heart, you ask the most stupid cliché things but don't look and realize who you are talking to. You only say this crap because you think that it's human and that you are expected to deliver such notions, but the thing is… I don't really give a shit." He folded his arms across his chest in a complacent matter and smirked, as Shizuka raised a single eyebrow. After a moment or two (as if she were carefully calculating Kaiba's response as he did with hers), Shizuka slowly turned around and started up her book again, but candidly yet straightforwardly, "So I see."

Hearing this, Kaiba shot his glance back in her direction, waiting for her to say more (something that he would normally expect to see from the Jounouchi family) but nothing came. It was becoming increasingly difficult to believe that this girl was related to that brainless Neanderthal of a brother—and it was making Kaiba feel even more on edge then he had been before.

"That's it?" he nearly coughed out, not believing it.

Averting her attention from her book again (but gaze still locked on the space in front of her), Shizuka sighed and asked, "Pardon?"

Not knowing how much more he could take of this, Kaiba then charged forward so that he was standing right in front of her, Shizuka slowly looking up at him, feeling rather put out. Becoming more and more tense by the minute, the young CEO shouted, in a voice not devoid of his own personal charm, "Aren't you going to insult me? Say I'm a first class jerk with the biggest ego in the frigg'n world? That I am a ruthless bastard with a heart of hellish ice, and one who talks countless shit about your brother? Seriously? Why keep me on edge like this? You know you want to say it, right! So say it!"

After staring at him awkwardly, Shizuka lowered her book sighed and began rationally, "It appears I have upset you within some point of time. So I swear, starting today that I will never bother you again."

Hearing this, Kaiba tensed dramatically, not believing the response she gave after taking some of his worst crap he could deliver. This is unreal, he commented inside. Before he could think further (to continue to rationalize this rather unorthodox situation), Shizuka suddenly began to gather her stuff, telling him as she did, "Look, I'm deeply sorry if I have irritated you. I suppose I'll find somewhere else to wait if you want. Besides, I think I saw a nice tree towards the end of the field, I could just wait there and—"

She then made the notion to vacate the area when a sudden pained cry emerged from her catching Kaiba's rarely given undivided attention within an instant. While Shizuka scrunched her face in pain, holding on to the back of the bench for full support, Kaiba's gaze averted from the girl as a whole, to whatever had triggered the shockwaves that continued to rattle her entire body. That was when he noticed her left calve and what had attempted to be hidden underneath her school uniform stocking cuff.

Besides the horrible bruise that probably covered more than could be see and the huge amount of swelling that must have started at her ankle, he couldn't help but notice the little bit of blood oozing from the wound. Where could she have gotten that, Kaiba thought to himself.

As her breathing became more relaxed and more stable, Kaiba suddenly stood up and asked, "Hey, uhh girl—"

Tensing up her body (only increasing the pain somewhat), Shizuka informed him, in a voice that implied he wasn't helping at all, "Shizuka, my name is Shizuka!"

Rolling his eyes, Kaiba gave in. "Fine, whatever—your leg, what happened?"

Wishing more than anything that she could just get out of here she began, "It's none of your business—"

Kaiba frowned for a moment, before factually stating, "It is my business if I just let you walk away with a wound like that!"

He then got up, looking like he was going to assist her, prompting Shizuka to look away from him (knowing that there had to be some sort of catch), while protesting, "N-No… Please- I-I don't deserve this."

Kaiba rolled his eyes and continued, "Look, you aren't going anywhere with that ankle, and I'm sure that mor—I mean, your brother—wouldn't want you walking with such an impediment anyway, right? Not to mention if I just left you here, that would just give him and his half-witted friends more grounds to—"

He stopped in his words noticing the evolving vehement stare from Shizuka, most likely caused from Kaiba uttering the chosen phrase "half-witted friends." It was so severe, that he didn't even notice the limousine pulls right up before the two of them, where it stopped and waited for further instructions. Leaning back slightly, Kaiba shook his head briefly, before bowed his head and stating, "Look. Please let me at least take you a clinic. Okay?"

Shizuka stared at him vaguely, while inside trying to think of some excuse not to go—

* * *

—But within ten minutes, the two of them were driving towards the Kaiba mansion, where Kaiba had instructed part of his staff to wait for them, in order to accommodate and check out Shizuka's little inconvenience. The public clinics apparently were closed that time of day (something about holiday hours), leaving the more sinister (and more expensive) option of the E.R.—something which Kaiba was definitely not considerate enough to take the little pip-squeak to. Sheesh, why pay a fortunate for a single swollen ankle when he could do it for free with his medical staff, anyway?

Of course, Shizuka objected to it right away and had attempted several excuses to pull out (such as, "I'll be late for cram class" or "I have try outs for soccer!")—all of them which were not plausible by any means. After much desperate and reluctant protest, in the end, Kaiba pulled out a promise that if she just agreed, he would convince the teacher to relieve Jounouchi of his detention the very next day. She then finally agreed and hesitantly boarded the limousine.

While riding, Kaiba made sure to maintain his usual cold demeanor (hoping to avoid any little unwanted conflict), while Shizuka tried to lean as far away as she could from him, looking out the window of the chauffer. Her wound was throbbing dangerously, yet she wouldn't admit it. She had tried so hard to cover it up… for _his_ sake. How could she have been so careless as to let Kaiba see it? And why would he care in the first place? As the cars and street signs wished by, neither of them said a word. After a few moments of this steadily increasing uncomfortable silence, Shizuka slowly turned towards Kaiba and questioned, matter-of-factly "I'm curious Kaiba—why is it that you are so motivated to help me?"

Kaiba said nothing—only allowed the silence to continue its awkward presence. Shizuka observed him for just a little more, before looking back nonchalantly towards the window, and watched as the cars and trucks zipped by.

The truth of the matter was, he didn't know why he was even bothering to do either. The question still rang out, making Kaiba wonder again and again why he was so hell-bent on helping her. Why the hell did he care so much about helping her… Up until now, he had been accustomed to acting the complete opposite as he was now… as he had been with her brother and his friends for almost two frigg'n years! What made her so special? Why was he willing to let her slide with no further complications?

As Kaiba continued to contemplate on the confusion of his own actions, the uncomfortable silence (and Kaiba's form of tranquil bliss) continued to linger for just a little more, before—

"I- never thought- that life could be… anything but… catastrophe… but suddenly- I- begin to see- a bit of good luck for me…."

Kaiba stiffened a bit, hearing as Shizuka picked up yet another form of lyrics, peacefully singing them to herself. Not again, he thought bitterly.

Shizuka continued to look out the window (which had transformed from a metropolitan environment, to what appeared to be private land), trying to not let on that her leg really hurt like hell, while not noticing the harm she was inflicting on the man escorting her. "—cause- I got a gold-en tick-et… I've got a gold-en twin-kle- in- my eye…"

"Why are you doing that?" Kaiba nearly spat out.

Shizuka stopped in her lyrics and looked at him, oddly. "Pardon?" she asked in a curious manner.

Kaiba stiffened for a bit, before turning towards her, growling while using his hands to announcing his cause, "Look, you did that yesterday and you're doing it again. Why are you so comprised to sing such stupid and outdated material? Are you trying to make me feel like a loser? An idiot? Or do you think you can strike gold yet again and encourage me to rent yet another crappy movie like I had yesterday!"

Hearing this, Shizuka blinked a couple times, trying to register what Seto Kaiba had just said, almost as if he were confessing. Hesitating a bit, she parted her lips and inquired, softly, "Had?"

Following that question, Kaiba (having caught himself) opened his mouth yet didn't say a single thing. After taking the time to register what he had said (and what he might have given away) he finally gave an animal-like snarl and turned away from her in an enraged stance.

Neither one of them said anything else for the rest of the trip.

* * *

Kaiba had never been so pissed at himself in his life. As he stood outside the room where the head of his medical staff was examining Shizuka, the words he said kept repeating over and over inside his head—each passing cycle making Kaiba want to hurt himself in the most devastating and punishing way possible.

Christ… He actually had confessed (and in the most unconventional way) that he watched the stupid prior to their second encounter today. How could he? How could he admit defeat… and to the likes of that stupid little mouse? He would most certainly expect the dueling monkey to pull off crap like that… but him?!

He could have reflected on this for hours (and maybe even end up really hurting himself) but that would not come to pass, as the doctor finally emerged from the room… holding his usual tool box, a pair of rubber gloves, and carrying a zip lock bag with a biohazard sign on it. He was not a plump man, but not a thin one either, and his only difference in style aside from the normal Kaiba servant/body-guard like attire, was his white jacket and the stethoscope hanging from his shoulders. **(A/N 1)**

Kaiba looked at him, with a very discomforting look and inquired, "Finished?"

The doctor looked up at him with a very fatigued expression. After all, he­—like the rest of the Kaiba manor staff—he had to endure this crap almost every day, so naturally it was in itself, very tiring and difficult to deal with. He said in a tone matching his face, "Yes, I just finished giving her some painkillers after dressing and binding the wound."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Painkillers?" he asked, oddly.

He sighed, and while removing his glasses, stated, "The wound was infected, Mr. Kaiba. After cleaning it as best I could, I had to administer an antibiotic directly to the wound tissue itself; otherwise, it could have been much worse. Whatever happened to her, she didn't just get it this afternoon."

Kaiba stared in confusion. The girl was just fine the other day. He had seen her and she was happy and healthy as she could be. What could have happened between those two times?

"In any case," the doctor continued, repositioning his spectacle like glasses on the rim of his eyes, "it was a good thing you caught sight of it and got her here. Honestly, I have no idea why she didn't consult a doctor immediately upon getting it."

"When can she leave," Kaiba asked bitterly.

The doctor shook his head and said, matter-of-factly, "Not right away… the painkillers have made her rather woozy. She'll probably sleep for an hour or two and then you can take her home fifteen minutes after she wakes up."

Kaiba did not like this news too much. But before he could say anything (such as some form of protest) the doctor suddenly looked at him very seriously. "Mr. Kaiba," he began very solemnly. "I've known you and your brother for a very long time… and I am grateful that of all the original staff of the Kaiba household, you allowed me to remain after Gozaburo's passing—"

Hearing that bastard's very name caused Kaiba to narrow his eyes and clench his fist very tightly. As this may seem threatening or even dangerous to anyone else, the doctor merely continued. "—and I am sorry to preach on such a horrid subject. I know very well that that man put you through a lot of shit, but this incident, well…"

Kaiba asked, his expression, unchanged in the slightest, "What are you saying, doctor?"

"Seto," the servant began, treating him like a human being. "Do you know of anyone who might be… hurting this child?" **(A/N 2)**

Kaiba heard this and suddenly faltered entirely. Of all the things the doctor mentioned, and after bringing out that monster of a stepfather, he had never expected him to suggest anything like that. Nothing as bad as that could have happened to her. Come on; That innocent girl, who annoyed him like no end yet graced all of those around her—that was twisted. Then again, he knew nothing else of the Jounouchi family besides her and her brother—he had always assumed their parents would be no different…. Right?

Kaiba didn't say anything, only shook his head, giving the doctor his immediate answer.

The man in the white coat sighed and instructed; "Anyway… best thing to do is to let her rest for now. Once she's ready, you can contact Isono and have him bring the chauffer up to the front of the foyer." With that, he walked down the hallway, leaving Kaiba standing by the door. Kaiba stood there, mentally processing the facts.

"Oh and uh, Mr. Kaiba?"

Kaiba looked back in his direction.

"This may come across as… unusual, but honestly? You've never done anything relatively close charity works in your whole life… yet you brought this child here for treatment as if it didn't mean a thing to you."

Kaiba looked away and said bitterly, "Your point?"

The doctor nervous scratched his head and began, while wearing an innocent yet crooked smile. "Well I was thinking, you are due for your annual checkup. And if you so desire to have a cranial scan under infrared, just let know."

This joke did not please Kaiba at all. As Kaiba stiffened dramatically, the doctor took that moment as his time for departure and concluded, "Let me know if something happens and I'll be back in a jiffy." With that, he turned the corner and like a light, was gone.

Kaiba stood there for a moment (the anger still residing in him yet beginning to disappear every so slowly) before letting out a tired sigh and looking at the door in front of him. She was in there, probably, and if she had not sound asleep, she would have probably been completely put out, possibly lonely and…

…Lonely?

What was he thinking about? Was it her… or… himself?

Not even thinking clearly, he nonchalantly let himself in, opening and closing the door softly, being careful not to make any sort of noise. As the door shut quietly behind him, Kaiba cast his gaze over towards the over end of the room, and stared at what lay before him.

There in the bed just on the other side of the glamorous guestroom was Shizuka, completely knocked out, but yet looked so peaceful, as if nothing could disturb her at all. Kaiba stared for a moment, before walking up until he was standing right besides her, staring down at her with absolutely no expression of any kind. Not even knowing what he was doing, as if he were her own brother (he was one himself after all), he reached for the blankets around her, and slowly moved them up around her shoulder line, being careful not to disturb her. As he did that, the blanket moved away from her ankle, which was now carefully bound in soft white cloth.

The doctor's words continued to disturb him… and the hints of whatever dark force caused Shizuka's pain continued to echo through his mind. Even though it would never seem that way to anyone else, deep down inside whatever remained of his soul… he knew… that after the constant abuse, pressure and pain he had endured for almost fives years of his entire life… he knew that he wouldn't be able to bear it if he had knowledge of anyone suffering the very same way he had during his own time of adolescence.

He sat down on the bed and slowly gazed on her slumbering features. Although he wanted to look away, and march out of the room, something had him… rooted besides her. He continued to lean closer to her, having no understanding of what he was doing at all. But as he looked at the auburn beauty in his bed, his gaze softening for every inch moved closer to her…

He let out a small sigh, and whispered slowly and quietly to her, "Who knows, kid… you might be surprised too."

With that, he leaned down and gave her a small little kiss on her forehead, and lingered there for a moment, wishing more than anything to remain like that for as long as need be.

* * *

As Kaiba's own mental defenses slowly caved in, and as he felt emotions pour into his heart that were unknown to him yet peaceful and precious, but with it… something _else _happened. As Kaiba's self-imposed boundaries crashed and disintegrated, they paved the way for the fall of something else. This mental blockade that had been protecting him for all of these years, simply disappeared without a trace, leaving as if they had never been there at all.

It left something else in its wake, something that had been dormant for all that time, and had been nonexistent up until this point. That something lingered for only a moment, before it cautiously, and slowly opened up its one and only eye…

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

**The following is not meant to be anti-fanfiction format. These are author notes, and they are not meant to counter the rules of site placed restrictions of the webmasters and moderators. Thank you for your attention.**

**Author Note 1** – For collecting the needles and dirty materials used while fixing up Shizuka. Doctors are smart you know, they know the dangers of handling body fluids, even when they aren't infected.

**Author Note 2** – _No!!!_ I swear to God, this is not another crummy, shitty "abuse" side-story thing. That has been way over done and I have _dignity._ And this doctor is _once _more, just doing his job. I promise to you all, there is a catch, and you will see it next chapter. I only gave it away because I don't want you people to think I am _that _predictable. M'kay?

* * *

**Random Note:** I know, this was a very short chapter, but I was planning on leaving it at that moment from the start, so it couldn't be helped. Anyway, I am hoping to update a something a lot sooner than the wait you had to endure for this one… but honestly? It all depends on when I get my inspiration and if I can actually fulfill it. Anyway, whatever the time-frame, see you kids around! (waves)


	4. 3: Hi Loyd, Kind of slow tonight, huh?

**Author Note: **Yes, I'm still dancing. Not with as much intensity as before, yet I am still finding my face to write every once in a while. A… well… a long… long… while. Anyway, I'm on a special break right now, so I might contribute a little more, but don't get your hopes up. I am honestly not in the state of mind to write anything (in fact, this chapter itself was rewritten and revised several times) and delays are just part of the deal (worse so than before, I'm afraid).

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. And I honestly wouldn't care all that much if I did.

* * *

**Plot: **_After Battle City, Seto Kaiba finally feels inner peace with himself. He finds comfort in his brother and the most least-likely person, and finally begins to have hope for the life he never thought he could had—__  
__—until fate intervenes and threatens to take and distort everything he has now come to cherish.

* * *

_

**Genre: **Romance/Supernatural/Fantasy/Drama

* * *

**Pairings: **

Shizuka/Kaiba  
Shizuka/Pegasus

* * *

**Warning: **Rated T/(PG-13) (Parents Strongly Cautioned) For language, brief violence and sensuality.

* * *

-_Imperfect Paradise (Yamiko)

* * *

_

Twisted Intervention  
By Imperfect Paradise

* * *

**-Chapter 3-****  
**Hello Loyd._ …_kinda_ "slow" _tonight isn't it?

* * *

After seeing off Shizuka to the chauffer, Seto Kaiba groaned and pulled back his hair in an annoyed stance. He was frustrated with himself beyond compare, and couldn't believe he had done such an early-fifty's-school-boy maneuver on Jounouchi's little pipsqueak of a sister.

_Why the hell did I do that? _He moaned inwardly.

Yet despite all that had happened, he still felt reassured by the whole thing. After all, the _important_ thing was that no one _knew_ about it. It was in a confined room, no windows and only one door. He was completely alone (besides Suzumi of course—wait, _was _that her name? Awl, son of bitch—) He was the only witness and with that, the case was closed. Nothing to tie him to the incident. Neat and clean—no mess left behind. All was now, as he knew it, peace and harmon— **(A/N 1)**

"Oh _Nii-sama~!" _

Hearing the voice of his brother (and the almost too cocky tone that went with it), Kaiba stopped in his tracks and his brow twisted in a annoyed slash worried stance. He slowly turned around to face his little bother, who was nonchalantly prepped up against the side of an arch that connected the foyer with one of Kaiba's manor's _many _living rooms. His arms and hands were folded across his chest and he was looking quite satisfied with either himself or with whatever knowledge he had that his older brother didn't.  
Not liking this one bit (and feeling slightly unnerved by it all), Kaiba rolled his eyes and began, "_Alright…_ Cut to the chase Mokuba, what is it?"

Mokuba grinned slightly, before tsked his brother as if he were the one inexperienced with life itself He then said, almost evilly, "Oh, No, no, no big brother. What just _happened _was not only a _once in a lifetime_ event, but in your shoes, it was an actual divine _miracle—_and I intend to savor each and every second of my words of appraisal."

Kaiba raised a single eyebrow. "Appraisal? What the hell are you—"

"Tell me, bro" Mokuba indiscriminately interrupted "—did you even give yourself the _credit_ of believing that you would actually at one point in your life _get _a _girl?_ Kaiba stared lacking emotion, as his little brother continued. "Because no offense, but for someone like you—that must have been incredibly difficult."

Frowning slightly, Kaiba shook his head in a disagreeing way, and began, "She doesn't even like me, _and_, not to credit to a Jounouchi or anything, even she is smart enough to know that we aren't exactly a match made in heaven. She knows all too well that I've trashed her brother one too many times for her to even--"

"_One_-to many times_?_" Mokuba inquired, earning a warning growl from his older brother. Continuing to maintain his newly-adopted smart-ass stance, Mokuba turned his head towards the eight inch flat-screen in the living room behind him and began, a vile smirk laced on his lips, "Difficult as it is to believe, Nii-sama…" (he pulled out a DVD remote) "I'm afraid SONY PlayStation is much more honest than you are." Kaiba then watched as Mokuba hit the play button, and saw a most dreadful, revolting sight his Aquos Sharp LCD televsion unfold before him.

After Kaiba recovered from the internal sting from witnessing the moment he had hoped never to see again (cleverly taken from the hijacked data from his home security systems and then converted into a high-quality 720p file) Mokuba took this as the opportunity to pause the imported mpeg-4 file midway through, right when Kaiba's lips were inches away from Shizuka and barely puckered. Realizing that his brother was obviously, stretching his crime further than needed, he narrowed his eyes in resentment. _God damn it, Mokuba, _Kaiba thought. With that, the youngest Kaiba sibling turned towards his older brother and drawled, "Behold Nii-sama—you can pinpoint the exact- _moment _where your otherwise frigid heart_ actually_ skips a beat."

He then put the video on slow-mo and watched with glee as Kaiba from fifty minutes ago tenderly kissed Jounouchi's little sister with sweet, loving chastity, while real-time Kaiba stared at the footage with disgust and building animosity.

After going through as much as he could take of Mokuba's gloating, Kaiba turned to walk out of the room, tossing a "Delete that footage immediately!" before vacating the room as fast he could (with his tail behind his legs), leaving Mokuba pointing at him, while laughing his heart out at his brother's response.

* * *

It wasn't until he had taken a few turns down the many corridors of the Kaiba manor, when Seto Kaiba began to actually consider the effects of the sudden interest he had taken in the Jounouchi girl upon her arrival in his home. True, a part of him didn't know why the heck he even 'cared.' He had just been completely humiliated, was pissed beyond all content, yet couldn't bring himself who he could otherwise blamed flat-out. And how could he? She had been unconscious, sound asleep and completely oblivious of what he did to her.

Yet she was so beautiful.

He smacked himself, not believing he had thought that. But despite his wishes, these thoughts progressed.

She was cute, respectful of him, not the other high-school brats, the obnoxious fan girls, the school ice-queens and business whores that seemed to haunt him everywhere he went. She had something else as well. And it was something he hadn't been familiar with in concept for a long, long time.

And that was… …_Innocence._

How many years_ had_ it been since he, Seto Kaiba, had smiled with neither corporate nor commercial purpose behind it? How long had it been when he was able to give a friendly gesture to those around him and be among others just for the sake of being with them.

Ignoring what seemed like a dark chuckle formulating in the back of his mind, Kaiba knew that despite the facts that it had been a little while (scratch that; it had been nearly half a frigg'n _decade_!) he had had every bit of what he had once called happiness (if that was even what it was) beaten out of him upon his arrival at the Kaiba manor.

Upon entry to his late step-father's estate, his last name had been tossed aside, discarded, and was soon forgotten in its entirety. Even if he could check, the graves of his parents hadn't had flowers in a good long while and had nearly crumbled away in neglect, leaving the resting place of his biological mother and father unmarked. Even if he went to the cemetery, he knew he could never find them. And in their stead, he had been met with brutality, pain, and the torture of both his body and mind all for the promise of taking control of what could be his only gateway to the love and admiration that he _and _his brother deserved. All it cost him in return was a few bruises, a scar on the back of his left shoulder blade and anything that had gone along with it obviously didn't count for much at all.

…right?

The laughing grew a little bit louder—had Kaiba not been so deep in thought, he would have probably caught it.

In the midst of reflecting on his own discomfort, he was suddenly reminded of the bruises and markings on Shizuka's arms and legs. Along with that… cut… He narrowed his eyes in contemplation. The facts were pretty finate. There _was _something going on with her. But even so… if that was the case… Could she really be—

The voice in the back of his mind, suddenly laughed a little sharper, then spoke:

_**Hmmm…. For someone with personal experience in this form of pain and anguish, I must confess, you sure are quite dense… It's no wonder you lost to little Yuugi time and time again. Dearest little Kaiba-boy.**_

For a moment, Kaiba just stared into open space, reflecting on these words. _Kaiba? _He thought unhappily. _Kaiba… …boy-!? _Kaiba then stopped dead in his tracks. The back of his hair froze stood on end, in the way a wolf's would stand under severe pressure from an obvious threat, and his eyes clouded for a fraction of a second.

For a moment, he did nothing…. Just stood there, not doing or saying anything, as the voice continued chuckling. It was short lived, for when it finally dispersed, he slapped himself harshly in the face and growled, "God- damn it you fool!" (he slapped himself again just to be safe) "You're not 'seriously' _buying into_ all that stupid_ nonsense_ Yuugi and his idiotic friends kept preaching about!" He growled for a moment, running his fingers shamelessly through his hair, then narrowed his eyes and shouted into the ceiling, with undisputed rage, "Listen! There_ is_ no stupid pharaoh. There are _no _games of darkness,_ no_ millennium items, and whatever happened at Duelist Kingdom was just a mental relapse following the second defeat you suffered within the same hour of the same day and by two different people! _You got that!"_

"Uhh, Kaiba-sama…?"

Kaiba suddenly spun around and spat out loudly and cruelly, "_What!!!"_ After glaring at whoever interrupted him with eyes designed to kill, his especially cool and devilish demeanor broke into a puzzled one, as he stared into the perplexed mint blue eyes of all that _remained_ of the original servants of the Kaiba estate.

True enough, Noriko was the only person of the original Kaiba Corporation home-based staff still stationed in his household. While everyone else had bought into the scheme by I2 and betrayed during the Duelist Kingdom fiasco, Noriko was the only one who had refused and in return, aided him quite well in the reacquisition of his little brother. Another reason he kept Noriko was that she was the only mother figure Mokuba ever knew, and after all the irreparable shit he had caused for his little brother _and _himself (especially during Death-T), he couldn't bare to take anything more away from him.

Despite all of this, however, the head maid of Kaiba manor looked at him oddly, in a way that Kaiba didn't like. She then inquired softly, "…you were talking to yourself kind of oddly, sir…Don't mind me saying so, but are you _feeling_ alright today?"

Kaiba continued to stare at her, feeling incredibly foolish, while at the same time, severely contemplating what the _hell _was _wrong _him. Then all at once, he quickly adopted the normal Kaiba manner as if it were nothing more than a natural reflex, narrowed his eyes and grunted. "Don't you have work to be doing? Why are you bothering me at this time at night?"  
Noriko rolled her eyes and sighed "Of course, Mr. Kaiba, that's why I'm here." She then pulled out a clip-board from underneath the crook of her arm, and started, "Anyway, Hiroki from your _latest _assembly of the Big 5—"

"I _know_ who he is," Kaiba lied.

Tossing his previous statement aside (it sometimes disgusted her that Mr. Kaiba didn't even bother to remember his own board's surname) the head-maid continued, "Anyway, he prepared the documents for your upcoming meeting between the representatives of Microsoft and Sony Entertainment tomorrow and asked me to pass them on to you."

All at once, the thoughts of Jounouchi's little sister and whatever had just happened disappeared, and was replaced instantly by Kaiba's own personal duty to his family empire. He growled silently to himself. God _damn_ it… he _hated _when those stupid hotheaded gaming companies tried to buy him off for exclusive rights to his software. It was so tiresome to hear the two companies gripe, bragging about their systems and their features, how his software would be best suited to their hardware, how they had more followers than the other, blah-blah-blah. It the end it was just pointless. He knew it, they knew it—that he would see far more of a financial gain from using the two of them together, and he was not in the mood to see one or the other gloating at the other's misfortune if in the effect he picked only one of the two—which would _so-_ not- happen.

He gave out an exacerbated sigh and began, "Thank you Noriko." He then took the clip-board from her and turned to move away. "I'll look over these papers in the morning. Also, before I tune it, can you get me some Nyquil? I would prefer to tune in as soon as possible."

She smiled with a small bow, "As you wish, Mr. Kaiba." Kaiba then wandered off heading slowly over towards his room, Noriko watching him somewhat coyly. Then, deciding that she just couldn't resist (not after what she heard from the gossiping staff that night) a small smirk suddenly crept across her face (like so many others Mokuba had deliberately passed the news on to that night) and joked out loud, "So it _is _possible for you to be over-stimulated after meeting a girl for less than thirty minutes. May the divine be damned."

"_Shut the hell_ _up!!!!"

* * *

_

The fire crackled in the granite fireplace within the grand master bed-room, Kaiba hardly paying attention to it, typing away at his laptop as the clip-board and papers lay curling and charring in its hearth. He was busy looking at dated documents from the Battle City tournament from a while back, which included tabloids and interviews with his participants.

Struggling to keep awake, Seto Kaiba remained persistent on figuring out the answer of the question that had clearly distracted him from work that evening. While he never usually made an effort to look back on the past (the future held his finish line and it was, as far as he concerned, all that really mattered) his curiosity had clearly taken over, rendering his usual morale completely helpless. He stared at the group image taken back at the docks at tournament's end (seeing as Alcatraz had been disintegrated from the top down) and more specifically at a certain young women among the crowd of witnesses. Her smile was happy, fulfilled, yet lacking confidence as she stood by her older brother, who was wearing a rather ignorant smile and was brandishing the biceps of his leg arm towards the camera man (_Buffoon_, Kaiba thought discriminately).

The digital clock besides him changed from 1: 59 to 2:00, yet he continued to press on, trying find out while he still had the willpower. Getting more and more drowsy, he finished reading the whole interview, and weakly scanned over the thanks to the following participants. His eyes widened slightly, but then began to fade, and his eye-lids began to drop. Without him knowing, his computer fell from his hands, below his lap, and automatically went on power-saver mode, him not even noticing. The last thing he thought before he drifted off was to sleep was…

_Shizuka… her name is Shizuka._

As Kaiba fell into a refreshing sleep, the fire cracked and popped quietly, as the last embers fading away completely, one after the other, Kaiba resting peacefully underneath he covers. Outside, the moon (a waned crescent) disappeared behind the forms of trees and clouds, leaving the entire room dark and cold.

Then, out of nowhere, Kaiba's hand twitched, and the his brow narrowed slightly.

_**That's it… get acquainted…**_

He growled slightly, feeling incredibly uncomfortable—like living itself was almost a burden.

_**Take your time… No rush…**_

His whole body dramatically tensed up, lifting itself out of the mattress, feeling confined yet free, his mouthed opening in a pained formation, yet not saying a thing.

_**That's it…**_

Them he collapsed, remained motionless on the bed. For a moment, nothing passed, Nothing happened—

Then in a heart-beat his eyes shot open, and before dying out, the last ember in the hearth flashed its final light, revealing sharp, red amber colored irises, staring intensely into the world around him.

_**My God… I finally did it.

* * *

**_

To be continued…

* * *

**Author Note 1: **Inward joke at Kaiba never remembering her name. Just a little closer Seto—_almost _there…!

* * *

**Random Note: **While you guys miraculously got something out of me, please don't badger me with demands to update. You don't what I have gone through recently, and I am not exactly in the mood to talk about it. All I can say is… I don't care if you're a republican, democrat, liberal or conservative, what I have gone through cannot be backed by whatever bull-shit reason the people responsible for this irreparable stain of my life may give for _not _correcting it. It is inhuman, and I cannot easily forgive nor overlook whoever or whatever elements caused it to grow to such an intensely horrible experience. Thank you.


	5. 4: We are sending you back to the Future

**Author Note:** I dropped my previous format in favor of simplicity. Enjoy the newest chapter folks.

* * *

Twisted Intervention  
By Imperfect Paradise

* * *

**Chapter Four**  
We are sending you BACK- to the Future!

* * *

He looked down at his abdomen, and watched as his diaphragm rose up and down with each and every breath he took, the blanket having fallen to his knees during his previous struggle.

It wasn't his abdomen.

He stared breathless, reached out and held his hands out before him, almost denying that this miracle had occurred.

They weren't his hands.

He broke into a fit of chuckling laughter, and wiped his forehead with his right hand while clenching his other, not believing that he had finally returned to the world of light. He felt the smooth skin on his cheeks, the sharp brow above his forehead, all foreign, but strangely and remarkable amazing. This body, that he was able to move so fluidly without any problem at all, wasn't his, hadn't been his, but now… it _was _his, and frankly? It felt wonderfully… absolutely wonderful.

He hadn't though it possible, that he could be capable of doing this. Life after death was a hard feat after all, and he knew it well. When he had encountered Shadi before during the time of his years of absolute grief and despair, he had no idea that power he had received (already having been beyond his wildest dreams) could potentially do what it had done, with such remarkable and astounding results. It was amazing. …and he loved it.

Of course, in the midst of his joy and amazement, there was something troubling him; an epiphany that now, in the midst of his uplifting incredulity, slowly began to resurface. His newly acquired smile began to fade, as he now went over the facts in his head. He now knew, that him being here… in this body… and in this room… and whatever time he was in, meant only one thing.

The outcome he had strived for didn't come out as he anticipated. Meaning? Duelist Kingdom hadn't been a success. But, to put it all a little more simply—

He… … had _failed._

The puppeteer of Kaiba's hands gripped the blankets so tightly, that he nearly ripped them apart. He felt sick and angry at the same time, and felt bile rise in his new stomach, in realization of this sudden truth. _God… damn, _he thought bitterly.

How could he—the creator of duel monsters—have lost to such an ordinary boy? What the hell could have happened?

He attempted to recall where his failing was, but everything that had transpired before was so foggy. He couldn't remember anything. All he remembered was the duel with the boy whose body he now shared, and then his trip down to the bowels of the castle… but after that, nothing. Was it just the distortion of coming back to life?

Or was it because when he had sealed part of himself in stupid little Kaiba boy, that he wasn't in possession of the proper knowledge or memories of how his reign had come to an end?

Biting Kaiba's lip in a bemused fashion, Pegasus continued to contemplate on what exactly had transpired… but nothing came. Never had something irritated him so much.

Yet even so, he took his perplexity as an opportunity to allow himself to adapt to his new living conditions. Looking around him, he absorbed the detail of his new room, and couldn't help the sly smirk that came over his face. Strange. The room before him was a maroon color with yellow and gold. He would imagine himself with such a room. Maybe Kaiba-boy had some decent taste after all. He then tore off the blanket and stood up on Kaiba's feet, getting a feel for the world as he knew it now. It felt weird being on different feet but walking was something he could easily maintain. It wasn't like he was crippled or anything, it was just a new body. He found himself perfectly balanced and took a few steps foreword. He then took notice of something next to the bed. It was a full-sized mirror, and with that, he nonchalantly approached it, and allowed himself to peer into it.

It was an eighteen year old boy staring right at him. It wasn't the genius businessman whom he had made himself out to be, nor was it that incorrigible brat, Kaiba, it was just… him. Yet the resemblance was striking. The only differences he took note of (he was a former artist, after all, and he remembered every detail down to the last eye-lash) were that his eyes were of a red-wood/amber reddish color. He was more lanky than muscular, and his jaw was just slightly longer than Kaiba's. Also, while Kaiba's hair fell down in wavy bangs (and curled up in his some places), his were straight and fell before his eyes almost perfectly parted.

After admiring his new body for a moment, he then decided almost spontaneously.

_Well, might as well get acquainted with this life. Sooner is better than later, I suppose._ He then took graceful strides towards the door, and nonchalantly walked out, smirking at his environment in a pleased and complacent way.

He didn't know how he knew where he was going. Only that he knew. Perhaps it was just Kaiba's mechanical way of thinking or just his silly brotherly connection, but he seemed to know the exact path of his destination.

_I've had a long couple months in limbo with a horrible fate to seal 'em off. Being a minor, Kaiba obviously has no merlot nor sauvignon blanc, but _(he smirked insidiously) _that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun at his at his brother's expense. _

* * *

The next morning, with less than three hours before his meeting, Kaiba woke up with the worst head-ache he had ever had in his life. He groaned within seconds of opening his eyes (the light nearly blinding him) and instantly threw a pillow over his head.

_God_… It felt like someone had lodged an axe within the center of his forehead, splitting it evenly into two different parts and was still being pushed forward. All in all, it was enough to have bile rise to his stomach.

He could only remember one other time when he felt this way, and did his best to suppress that memory.

_**Oh so you remember? I am flattered!**_

_Shut up, _Kaiba thought, too tired and subdued by his headache to even acknowledge the obscurity of what just transpired.

But even in his state of pain, Seto Kaiba was _still_ Seto Kaiba and he began his day as he would with any other. He sat up out of bed and walked over to the connecting bathroom, stopping by the counter and its perpendicular mirror. As he normally would, he turned on the faucet and unscrewed the cap of his Listerine bottle, taking in the smell of wintergreen. Yeeup, totally normal morning. He then seized his toothbrush and dunked the tip into mouth detergent, making sure the fibers absorbed the purple liquid. After finding the levels of the liquid substantial, he moved the brush to his mouth and made eye-contact with the mirror, making a motion to brush his teeth. After a moment of just staring at his reflection in a bored stance, he suddenly took note of something rather aloof regarding the person staring back at him.

_Strange, _he thought to himself. His bangs weren't normally that straight were they? Nor had they been they as long or perfectly parted for that matter. While someone he knew would have thought that they might have grown over night (said someone being that idiot Jounouchi) Kaiba had a more plausible theory. Rolling his eyes, he thought bitterly, _Damn… Noriko must have purchased the wrong conditioner again. What, do I have to write a list for everything?_

He once more ignored that rather annoying chuckle emanating from the back of his mind. After spitting out the foam in his mouth and rinsing shortly afterwards, he turned away from the mirror, he reached a hand upward towards his head and ran his fingers through his bangs (almost as if it were an attempt to move them back into place), but then felt his heart jump as his hand made actually contact with them.

Whatever the mirror had showed him was simply not true. To double check, he brought both hands up and ran his fingers through their strands.

His bangs hadn't changed. According to his sense of touch, they felt like they did every morning. A little messy, but thick and properly curved inward. Heh… They weren't even parted. Deciding to look back at the mirror to confirm that his mind was playing tricks on him, (man, that headache was really doing a number on him) he gazed into the reflection in his bathroom and almost dropped dead on the bathroom floor.

His reflection completely defied his actual body. While he was standing in place, completely rigid with his hair stood on end, the Kaiba in the mirror was leaning up against the bathroom wall, with his arms folded across its chest. While Kaiba gasped at the situation in complete horror,_ the_ reflection (for it was obviously not his) was just smirking at him within something smack between a smug yet playful expression. After chuckling a bit, the reflection opened its eyes, revealing reddish brown irises and then waved to him in an amused way.

_**Top of the morning to you, Kaiba-boy. Have a good night's sleep?**_

Kaiba just stared at himself lost for words. Heck, he was having a hard time registering whatever he was staring had just said to him. After a while, his train of thought returned to him. _Night's… sleep_, he thought, contemplating while trying to register this newly found information with the greatest of care.

After a minute or two of this (the reflection looking at him sort of oddly) Kaiba finally snapped back to his senses. _Enough sleep?_ He thought mockingly, _Well that's stupid, I obviously haven't gotten enough._ Chuckling darkly, he vacated the bathroom (the reflection suddenly smiling and waving him good-bye) and began to go through with the intention of crawling back into bed (he decided that on the subject of Microsoft and Sony, he would flip a damn coin and have that decide it all) when he was abruptly stopped in his efforts.

A knock on the door sounded before him. Still feeling somewhat unresponsive from what was turning into a fully fledged migraine, Kaiba groaned and snapped at the door, "What is it?"  
"Mr. Kaiba," his maid Noriko called in from the other end of the door. "May I please speak with you?"  
"Not now!" he snapped irritably. Then while reaching for the covers, he rolled his eyes and shouted, "Look! Just tell Microsoft I am sick of foreign investors and tell SONY to stick with that crappy _Eye of Judgment_ game! I am don't have time for this nonsense, alright?"

The door creaked open slightly, as Noriko peered in, looking perplexed. Raising an eyebrow, she asked in an inquisitive yet bemused sounding fashion, "…_seriously_ Mr. Kaiba? Is rescheduling such a hard thing to do?"

Kaiba responded by pulling his covers over his head and throwing a pillow on top as well. "Look…" he murmured, "I'm not feeling too well, just get me a glass water and a dose an aspirin and I'll tell them myself. Now piss off, I just want to sleep."

Ignoring Kaiba's poddy mouth as she did on an hourly basis, she took note of this and sighed, "Okay, whatever master Kaiba wants… but to be strictly honest with you sir, that wasn't exactly why I am came by so early in the morning."

Hearing this, Kaiba's eyes opened slowly, registering this information. Removing his self built padded fortress from his head slowly, Kaiba slowly looked at her with black circles under his eyes and mouthed out the word, "…Whaaaa?"

Noriko nonchalantly let herself in and said, "Its your brother sir. I don't know what happened last night because the cameras were disabled, probably while your brother hacked them the evening before" (Kaiba growled, remembering what had transpired just the day before) "but he seems really freaked out. He's locked himself in his room and is refusing to come out."

Hearing this information was enough to have Kaiba eye's shoot completely open. Sitting up off of his mattress, he stared at Noriko, and clarified, "What was that?"  
Noriko answered, beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable. "Well… he won't come out of his room, and when I tried convincing him otherwise, I could have sworn he was almost crying.

Mokuba. Alone. Crying. These words were a dangerous mix for the big brother/father figure known as Seto Kaiba to hear. Bolting from his bed and towards, nearly shoving Noriko out of the way in the process, he then began to hastily walk towards his brother's room, almost forgetting about his headache.

Something was not right. Not right at all. This wasn't like his brother at all. Mokuba was one of the few kids in the world who actually enjoyed his school. He was popular among his peers and excelled as a student. There was no reason at all why he would be so reluctant to get out of bed on a weekday! At least not as far as Kaiba could see.

Turning the hallway where his brother's master suite was, he was surprised to see half of his entire staff, either staring at the doorway looking completely perplexed or trying to coax his brother out of the room. Giving them the same treatment he had done with his maid, he stood before the door rammed his fist against it. He then yelled through the mahogany, "Mokuba, what is the meaning of this?"

Mokuba cried through the room, "_Go away! Just go away! " _he then broke into a series of sobs, not making Kaiba feel any better.

Tensing up, (either from protective or just flat out worried stance—wait, that didn't sound like him) Kaiba then yelled, spit flying out from his mouth "_Mokuba_!—you open this door right _now!"_

"_No!" _

Not understanding what the hell was happening, Kaiba suddenly heard as if he himself were thinking it;

_**What's the problem? All I did was tell him a nice, long, epic bedtime story about a knight n shining armor who traveled to a distant land to save his brother from an evil king, but met with a tragic end. …True story, by the way.**_

Continuing to ignore this unusual trend of his as his did last night (although, at this point it was seriously starting to worry him), he began to try to force the door open. "MOKUBA!" he roared through the wood, pounding himself into it again and again (though it wouldn't budge) "I am DEAD serious! OPEN UP, RIGHT NOW!"

"_Prove to me_ that you are my brother!"

Kaiba shouted, his voice becoming incredibly hoarse, "What the hell are you talking about?"  
"JUST PROVE TO ME THAT YOU ARE MY BROTHER!"

Not knowing how much more he could take of this and rolling his eyes, Kaiba decided to buy into Mokuba's little game. He began, with an incredibly irritable and stressed tone of voice, "The only movie we had at the orphanage was _Back to the Future_ because we only had a BetaMax plaer and we couldn't get a hold of a VHS!"

On the other side of the door, the whimpers and cries of Mokuba suddenly ceased. Kaiba stood there, a little confused, but then felt suddenly reassured with the sound of a few locks (and something that sounded like a chair being moved) that indicated that Mokuba was coming out of the room. The door opened a tiny bit, before Mokuba peered out and looked over his brother. Kaiba stared, very perplexed about this.

"You're…" Mokuba began, "Back… to _normal?"_

Kaiba heard this and suddenly went rigid.

Was Mokuba actually suggesting that he was the cause of his misfortune? That couldn't be true! He would never hurt his brother.

That was when he completely acknowledged the voice in his head, as it laughed uncontrollably. Narrowing his eyes furiously, he ran to the nearest wash-room, the servants staring at him oddly as he did.

Finding himself back in his chambers, he slammed the connecting bathroom door shut, and locked it, before staring at his reflection. The reflection hadn't moved at all, and still had the same characterized smug and self-satisfied appearance, that looked that at one point, as if just shortly before—it had been laughing.

Staring at it oddly, Kaiba spoke in a threatening voice, "What the hell- _are _you?"

The reflection, looking directly at Kaiba corrected him, "Don't you think you mean to say… _who _are you?"  
"That's not what I am talking about and you know it!" Kaiba spat.

"Aren't you at all curious?"

"No!"

"Honestly?"

"NO!" Kaiba suddenly shouted, though suddenly looked shocked that he had delivered such a response. He looked at the door timidly. What if his staff had heard that?

The reflection chuckled at bit, finding it highly amusing that Kaiba hadn't changed a bit since he had last seen him. Then, clearing its throat, he began, "Well… I hate to inform you of this particlar news, Kaiba-boy, that whether you like it or not… I am afraid I am now taking up permanent residence inside your body."

Kaiba began to sweat almost instantaneously. "Wh-What the hell are you saying?" he questioned, in a voice he hadn't used since Gozaburo was alive.

The reflection stated omnisciently, "Well, seeing as how my actual body is burred six feet under in the Crawford family graveyard, I have no choice but to do so. I have sealed myself within your body, where I will reside until the day the both of us will be no more."

Seto Kaiba paled in realization of this truth, as the reflection that was not his own grinned almost devilishly, in light of his host's epiphany, soon to become a painful truth. "So now," Pegasus J. Crawford began, malice and playful venom laced completely in his words, "I believe we are to be one… happy, little, family—inside your very own mind."

Kaiba didn't even hear the laughter that issued forth, and began to tremble in fear of this horrible reality he was now faced with.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Random Note: **Pegasus did nothing with Mokuba—just tormented him verbally. In case any of you had such thoughts. And yeah, I am contributing to his category again. Though honestly, I am not as psyched as I used to be. (It's true; I sold all my Yu-Gi-Oh DVDS in favor other pleasures) But you can encourage me to write more… its a common technique, known as reviewing my stories. 'cause unless I get feedback (and _decent_ feedback) on my work, you are not going to see anything updated. I used to pride myself on not being a review whore… but I am sick of punching out full chapter and not getting jack.


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